ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) accounts for 3-5% of all adult solid tumors. An extensive search for the anatomic site of origin is often undertaken in an attempt to tailor systemic treatment, but the latter often has limited efficacy - especially in the setting of an initial treatment failure. Molecularly targeted therapy is an emerging approach that may offer greater efficacy and less toxicity but is most likely to be effective when pairing a tumor harboring a sensitizing genomic alteration with an agent directed at the altered gene product. We report a patient with a CUP harboring a MET amplification with a complete metabolic response to crizotinib despite also harboring a KRAS mutation. METHODS: Ge-nomic profiling was performed using a clinical next-generation-sequencing-based assay, FoundationOne(®), in a CAP-accredited laboratory certified by Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (Foundation Medicine, Cambridge, Mass., USA). RESULTS: The CUP harbored both MET amplification (16 copies) and a KRAS G12V mutation. The patient was treated with crizotinib, a MET inhibitor, and has experienced a complete normalization of tumor metabolic activity for more than 19 months. CONCLUSIONS: Genomic profiling of CUP may reveal clinically meaningful genomic alterations that can guide targeted therapy decision-making. The use of this approach should be studied prospectively as a strategy for the effective treatment of CUP patients and for avoiding resource-intensive workups to identify the tumor site of origin.
